The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a strange relationship with 3D printing. Though they are now seeing the advantages of 3D printed prosthetics and drugs, the FDA has been slow to approve them in large numbers due to concerns over qualification processes and the impact of different materials and 3D printing technologies. In an effort to make FDA testing processes easier for all parties involved and enable developers to prepare as best as possible, they have now finally released a long-awaited draft guidance for 3D printed medical devices.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using 3D printers to restore or recycle decades-old equipment, with the Israeli Air Force (IAF) benefitting most fully from the initiative. The IAF’s Aerial Maintenance Unit (AMU) is presently 3D printing replacement parts for aircraft up to 30 years old.
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Dutch 3D printer manufacturer byFlow is exhibiting its pop-up 3D printing restaurant in Venlo, Netherlands, as it prepares to take the culinary project on a world tour. The restaurant, called ‘Food Ink.’, was first set up in London.
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A team of Australian surgeons and researchers has developed a 3D printing pen that allows surgeons to draw and sculpt customized cartilage implants made from actual human stem cells during the live surgery. Dubbed the ‘BioPen’, this lightweight, handheld device gives surgeons unprecedented control as it 3D prints a mixture of hydrogel bioink and human stem cells directly into the patient’s body, ‘filling’ damaged cartilage with fresh cells that have a proven 97% survival rate and can actually heal the body over time.
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A group of e-NABLE student volunteers from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee is running a 3D printed prosthetic leg covering project called ‘Next Step’. The project, led by e-NABLE stalwart Frankie Flood, recently received a $10,000 prize from the Infymakers Challenge.
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Within the medical world, 3D printing has allowed for some truly revolutionary advancements, such as the manufacturing of custom 3D printed surgical models, 3D printed implants, and made-to-fit 3D printed prosthetics. What is perhaps most exciting about the technology for medical experts, however, is the quickly advancing field of 3D bioprinting, which is allowing for spatially controlled organic cell patterns to be additively manufactured—think of 3D printed organs and organic matter.
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